Blade assembly for shear

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a shear blade assembly for a shearing system. The shear blade assembly includes an upper shear blade and a lower shear blade. The top surface of the lower shear blade is inclined downwardly at an angle of between 0.2 and 0.5 degrees to the horizontal. The bottom surface of the upper shear blade is raked relative to the horizontal, longitudinally of the blades.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/696,132, filedAug. 13, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,627.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to shearing systems. It relates moreparticularly to apparatus and a method for clamping and shearing sheetmaterial and, specifically, to a method for shearing sheet steel toprepare it for laser welding.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, shearing systems consist of a shear assembly having an upperand lower frame, and a slide plate. A die assembly with upper and lowershoes is positioned within the shear assembly. Each of the shoesincludes a clamp arrangement and blade arrangement. Sheet material suchas sheet metal to be cut is placed in a gap between the upper and lowershoes and is positioned with guide apparatus. Hydraulic cylinders areused to drive the slide downward against the upper shoe, depressing it.As the upper shoe is depressed in a downward stroke, first an upperclamp contacts the sheet metal and presses it against a lower clamp. Asthe upper shoe continues its downward stroke, the sheet is sheared by anupper blade sliding past lower blades.

One problem with conventional shearing systems is that often the sheetis clamped with a bend or a wave in it. This causes the sheet to besheared while it is not perfectly flat. Accordingly, when the sheetsprings back to its pre-clamped state, the sheet has a cut-edge which isnot as straight as was intended.

Another problem with conventional shearing systems is that sheet metalmay be only partially sheared. In other words, the cut-edge of the sheetmay have a rough and pitted area resulting from splitting or breakingrather than from the shearing action of the blades. The rough and pittedarea may be difficult to weld to another sheet.

Another problem with conventional shearing systems is that the guide forupward movement of the upper shoe works against the guide for downwardmovement of the upper shoe. Accordingly, the guides incur increasedwear.

It would be desirable to have a shearing system that would clamp thesheet without trapping waves or bends so that a straight cut would beachieved. It would also be desirable to have a blade arrangement thatwould maximize the actual shearing of the metal sheet with minimalbreakage of the cut-edge. It would also be desirable to have a dieassembly guide arrangement which would provide a smooth transitionbetween the open and closed position of the die assembly and reduce wearon the guides.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention includes apparatus for clamping sheet material to besheared including a die shoe, and a plurality of spring clamping memberspositioned longitudinally along the die shoe. The clamping members arepositioned in raised, stepped sequence outwardly from the centerline ofthe shoe, perpendicular to the longitudinal sides of the shoe, wherebythey sequentially contact the sheet. Each of the clamping members mayinclude a guide pin positioned between two mechanical springs.

The clamping apparatus may further include a second shoe with a clampopposing the clamping members on the first die shoe to securely hold asheet during the shearing operation. The first and second die shoes arepreferably upper and lower die shoes, respectively. The clamp and theclamping members preferably each include a sandblasted and chromed,sheet contact surface. The second die shoe may include an opening formedtherein for allowing the scrap cut from the sheet to fall onto aconveyer traveling in a direction parallel to the longitudinal side ofthe second die shoe.

The invention further includes a method of clamping sheet material to besheared. A die assembly, including first and second die shoes withopposing clamps, is provided. The first die shoe clamp comprises aplurality of clamping members. The sheet material is contacted withthese clamping members positioned on opposite sides of, and adjacent to,a centerline, perpendicular to the longitudinal sides of the dieassembly. The sheet material is sequentially contacted with the clampingmembers beginning at the centerline and proceeding outwardly from thecenterline, to secure the sheet between the first and second clampsprior to shearing.

The invention further includes apparatus for shearing sheet materialwhich includes the die assembly with the first and second die shoes. Inthe apparatus the first die shoe is adapted to slidably fit in a shearassembly. Linear bearings are positioned in the shear assembly adjacentthe corners of the die assembly. A guide rail is slidably fitted in eachof the linear bearings to guide the movement of the first die shoetoward the second die shoe. Gas springs are positioned adjacent each ofthe linear bearings, which gas springs are adapted to compress duringthe movement of the first die shoe toward the second die shoe and thenexpand to force the first die shoe back to an open position, all withoutworking against the shear guide posts. Preferably, the linear bearingsextend beyond a cut line. This arrangement adds rigidity and stabilityto the die assembly. The linear bearings each preferably comprises aU-shaped channel member, which contains ball bearings, to allow theguide rail to move vertically within the linear bearing.

The invention further includes a method of shearing sheet material.According to the method, a first or upper die shoe of the die assemblyis guided downwardly along the linear bearings, while simultaneouslycompressing the gas springs. The gas springs then expand to repositionthe upper die shoe of the die assembly.

The invention further includes apparatus for shearing sheet materialwhich includes a cutting blade adapted to be attached to a die shoe. Theblade is positioned at an angle to the horizontal. This results in thecut-edge of the sheet having a higher percentage of sheared surface areaand a lower percentage of broken surface area. Preferably, the cuttingblade is positioned at an angle of between about 0.2 and 0.5 of a degreefrom the horizontal. The apparatus may further include a second cuttingblade, adapted to be attached to a second shoe which blade has a rakedesign. The second blade preferably has a rake of approximately{fraction (3/16)} inch per foot.

The invention further includes apparatus for shearing sheet materialwherein the shear assembly includes an upper frame and a lower frame,bolted together. The upper frame includes a hydraulically operated slideplate. The die assembly includes an upper shoe and lower shoe. The uppershoe includes an upper clamp and an upper blade. The lower shoe includesa lower clamp plate and a lower blade.

The upper clamp includes a plurality of spring-loaded clamping memberswhich press downwardly upon the sheet material, sequentially outwardlyfrom adjacent and center line extending perpendicular to a longitudinalside of the die assembly. These clamping members secure the sheetmaterial to the lower clamp when the upper shoe and upper clamp arepressed downwardly by the slide plate.

The lower frame may include hydraulically controlled locating pins whichare received in openings formed in a bottom portion of the lower shoe.The die assembly may also include a plurality of linear bearings withguide rails for guiding the upper shoe when it is driven downward by theslide plate. The die assembly may also include a plurality of gassprings which compress while the upper shoe is driven downward by theslide plate, and expand after the slide plate is retracted to force theupper shoe upwardly to an open position. The spring-loaded clampingmembers may include at least one mechanical spring and a guide pin. Theinvention may further include a torque tube which is orientedlongitudinally in said shear assembly and is connected to a cam whichpivots vertically and is trapped between the slide plate and a bearinghousing. The torque tube maintains the slide plate in parallelrelationship with the lower frame.

The apparatus of the invention may further include a scrap conveyerassembly. The scrap conveyer assembly is positioned within the shearassembly, perpendicular to the direction of sheet insertion into the dieassembly.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

The invention, together with further objects and attendant advantages,will best be understood by reference to the following detaileddescription of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, readin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment shearsystem;

FIG. 2 is a left side elevational view of the shear system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a right side elevational view of the shear system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top elevational view of the shear system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5—5 of FIG. 1, showing theguiding system of the upper frame;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6—6 of FIG. 1, showing thedrive mechanism of the upper frame;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a preferred embodiment dieassembly;

FIG. 8 is a top elevational view of the die assembly of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the guidance assembly in the die assemblyshown within the inscribed area designated B of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the die assembly of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11—11 of FIG. 8, and shownat the top of the shear stroke;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12—12 of FIG. 8, and shownat the bottom of the shear stroke;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of an upper blade in contact with apreferred tapered lower blade;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of the inscribed area designated A shown inFIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a side view of a sample cut sheet, showing tolerances;

FIG. 16 is a side view of a sample cut sheet, showing tolerances;

FIG. 17 is a side view of two sample cut sheets with the cut edgesabutting each other; and

FIG. 18 is a side view of two sample cut sheets with the cut edgesabutting each other.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1-4, apreferred embodiment of a shearing system is shown at 10. The shearingsystem 10 may be used as a stand alone shearing production system or inconjunction with other systems in larger processes, such as with a laserwelding system. The shearing system 10 preferably cuts material withoutsignificantly deforming the edges of the material. In the preferredembodiment, the shearing system 10 includes a shear assembly 400, a dieassembly 500 (see FIGS. 7-10) and a conveyer assembly 700.

The shear assembly 400 includes an upper frame 100 and a lower frame200. The upper frame 100 includes top plate 106, piston-cylindersub-assemblies 20, guide sub-assembly 104, and slide plate 3. The upperframe 100 may be attached to the lower frame 200 by any conventionalmeans, such as screws or bolts. The guide sub-assembly 104 includes aplurality of guide post(s) 6, each of which slide within a bushing 5. Asshown in FIG. 5, the bushings 5 are mounted to the top plate 106 by anyconventional means, such as bolts or the like. The guide post(s) 6 arefastened to the slide plate 3 by any conventional means.

Referring to FIG. 1, two piston-cylinder sub-assemblies 20 and a controlmechanism 108 are mounted to the top plate 106. As shown in FIG. 6, eachpiston cylinder assemblies 20 includes a cylinder 21 which is attachedto the top plate 106 by any conventional means, such as bolts or thelike. Sliding within cylinder 21 is a shaft 22, which is screwed intonut assembly 31. Nut assembly 31 is attached to slide plate 3 with a nut25. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the piston-cylinderassembly 20 may comprise a variety of devices and may be constructed inany suitable manner.

The control mechanism 108 is preferably a solenoid valve and includeshydraulic piping 24 for connecting to the piston cylinder assembly 20.The control mechanism 108 is preferably connected to an electrical powersource (not shown). When the control mechanism 108 is activated, theslide plate 3 may be reciprocated between an extended and retractedposition. Preferably, the slide plate 3 is made from steel.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, the guide sub-assembly 104 of the upper frame100 preferably includes a torque tube 4 which includes an elongatedtubular member 40 and a pair of end members 42. The end members 42 aresecured to the upper frame 100. The torque tube 4 is connected to cam44, which pivots as shown at 45 in FIGS. 2 and 3, and is trapped betweenslide plate 3 and a bearing housing 46 to maintain the slide 3 in aparallel relationship with the lower frame assembly 200.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower frame 200 is preferably bolted to theupper frame 100. The lower frame 200 preferably is made of steel, andreceives and supports the die assembly 500. The die assembly 500 has anupper shoe 502 and a lower shoe 504, which preferably includes lowerplate 506 bolted thereto.

When the die assembly 500 is inserted into the shear assembly 400,locating pins 115 are used to locate the die assembly 500 within theshear assembly 400. The pins 115 are preferably located on oppositesides, and diagonally across from each other, and are received withinhydraulic cylinders 16, which are fastened to the lower frame assembly200. The lower plate 506 has openings 26 formed in its bottom to receivethe pins 115.

Preferably, a plurality of die assembly lifters 23 are also mounted onlower frame 200. They are powered by a hydraulic system (not shown) tolift the die assembly 500 approximately {fraction (1/8)} inch relativeto the shear assembly 400 to allow its removal from the shear assembly.

The die assembly 500 is positioned on the shear bed 219 of the lowerframe 200. Preferably, the die assembly 500 is an independent cassettethat can be removed from the shear bed 210. The cassette die assembly500 may be removed by using a winch to move it along roller bearings onthe shear bed 210, while the die lifters 23 are in their extendedposition. It is contemplated that the upper and lower frames, as well asthe upper and lower die shoes, may be inverted.

Referring to FIG. 11, the upper shoe 502 and the lower shoe 504 areshown positioned in the open position at the top of a shearing stroke.Sheet material (or) stock 40 is fed into the opening formed between theupper shoe 502 and lower shoe 504, in the direction indicated by arrow15. Preferably, the die assembly 500 also allows the operator tosimultaneously insert two pieces of stock from opposite sides of the dieassembly 500 i.e., a second piece of stock in the direction opposite ofarrow 15, as shown for example in FIG. 15. In FIG. 12, the die assembly500 is shown at the bottom of the shearing stroke (no stock shown).

The conveyer assembly 700 is positioned in a center opening 70 formed inthe lower shoe 504, upon the lower plate 506. The conveyer assembly 700is designed to carry the sheared blank scrap out of the shear area. Theconveyer assembly 700 removes the scrap, which is sheared from thesheets 40, in a direction transverse to the direction 15 of insertion ofthe stock. This conveyor 700 can be interfaced with an external conveyorand scrap chopper (not shown).

Referring to FIGS. 11-13, the lower shoe 504 includes lower clamps 54,(only one shown). A pair of lower blades 50 are positioned on each sideof the center of the die assembly 500 in the opening which allows forblanks or stock 40 to be simultaneously inserted from opposite sides ofthe die assembly 500.

The pair of lower blades 50 are detachably mounted to the lower shoe 504by any conventional means, such as bolts. The pair of lower blades 50have a substantially flat bottom surface and vertical side walls. Thetop surface of each of the lower blades 50 are angled downward, as shownin FIGS. 13 and 14. The blades are preferably fabricated from steel orthe like.

The upper shoe 502 of the die assembly 500 includes an upper blade 56and upper clamps 52. The upper shoe 502 is contacted and depressed bythe slide plate 3 (see FIG. 6) in the upper frame 100 during theshearing operation. The upper blade 56 is preferably bolted to the uppershoe 502. The upper blade 56 travels downwardly in a vertical plane sothat it passes between the two stationary lower blades 50. As the upperblade 56 passes vertically between them, it interfaces with both of thelower blades 50 in order to provide simultaneous cuts on materialreceived from either side of the shearing system.

The upper blade 56 is preferably of one piece construction and has a bowtie rake design on a bottom surface, as seen in dotted lines in FIG. 7.Preferably, the rake angle is approximately {fraction (3/16)} inch perfoot. The upper blade 56 is preferably fabricated from tool steel or thelike.

The upper blade 56 is in slidable contact with the upper clamps 52. Awear plate 58 is fastened to each clamp 52. A wear plate 58 is fastenedto each clamp 52 and provides a wear surface for the slidable contactwith the upper blades 56. The wear plate 58 is preferably made ofbronze.

Referring to FIGS. 7-9, the guidance system for the die assembly 500includes four vertical guide rails 26. Each of the guide rails 26 ispositioned within a linear bearing 27, which is preferably highprecision and pre-loaded. Preferably the linear bearings 27 extend downbelow cut-line 900 which runs along the top edge of the lower clamp(s)54 to provide additional strength and rigidity to the die assembly 500.As seen in FIG. 9, each guide rail 26 is guided by ball bearings 29which allow for vertical movement of the guide rail 26 within the linearbearing 27.

The clamping sub-assembly of the die assembly 500 registers and holdsthe sheet material during the shearing process. The clampingsub-assembly preferably holds the sheet material in a rigid,predictable, and controlled fashion.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the clamping sub-assembly includes theupper clamps 52 and lower clamps 54. The lower clamps 54 are preferablysteel plates which support the sheet material or stock 40 (see FIG. 11)during operation.

Preferably, the clamping surfaces of the upper and lower clamps 52, 54have a textured finish to them to securely grip the sheet material andprevent slippage or movement during cutting. To this end, the clampingsurfaces of the upper and lower clamps 52, 54 are preferably sandblastedand coated with chrome. The upper and lower clamping surfaces of theclamps 52, 54 are preferably nominally measured at approximately 400RMS. The clamps 52, 54 hold the sheet material 40 securely during theshear cut, without marking the blank during this process.

Referring again to FIGS. 7-8, the upper clamps 52 may, for theembodiment shown, include a set of eight, spring-loaded clampingsegments 81-88. One set is longitudinally positioned along each side ofthe upper shoe 502.

Each clamping segment 55 in a set preferably includes a guide pin 36positioned between two mechanical springs 35. When the upper shoe 502 iscompressed by downward movement of the slide 3, the upper clamps 52 movedownward to engage the sheet. They engage sequentially outwardly fromthe centerline 800 of the die assembly 500. The two center clampingsegments 84, 85, positioned adjacent opposite sides of the centerline800, engage and clamp the blank first. This is because the centersegments are positioned slightly lower than the next segments 83, 86.Subsequently, in sequence outwardly from the centerline 800, each of theadditional clamping segments engage and clamp the blank. Thus for theembodiment shown, clamping segments contact the sheet in the followingsequence: first segments 84, 85; second segments 83, 86; third segments82, 87; and fourth segments 81, 88. Preferably each of the clampingpairs are approximately 0.40 inches lower than the previous pair. Thesheet material is, thus, effectively ironed outwardly from thecenterline 800 so as not to trap any waves in the sheet material.

In operation, sheet material stock may be fed into the shearing systemfrom either side, or it may be fed from both sides simultaneously. whenthe material is in position, the piston-cylinders 20 are activated tomove the slide 3 downwardly to contact the upper shoe 502 of the dieassembly 500. The slide 3 forces the upper shoe 502 downwardly, causingthe upper clamps 52 to move downwardly and secure the sheet material.

Referring to FIG. 10, for the embodiment shown, four gas springs 28contained in the die assembly 500 are compressed as the upper shoe 502,with its raked upper blade 56, descends in a controlled and guidedmanner in the opening 70 in the lower shoe 504. The upper sheet blade 56cuts the material along the edges of the lower blade 50.

The gas springs 28 each include a cylinder 33, which is preferablybolted to the lower plate 506, and a shaft 37 that slidably fits withinthe cylinder 33. The shaft 37 is engaged against spacer bar 39 which isbolted to the upper shoe 502. As the slide 3 of the shear assemblyretracts, the upper shoe 502 is raised as the gas springs 28 expand.

This design allows the linear bearings 27 and guide rails 26 to guidethe downstroke of the upper shoe 502. It also allows the gas springs 28to return the die assembly 500 to the open position without workingagainst the guide post(s) 6.

The shearing system which has been described provides sheet metalcut-edges which meet the precise criteria required for successful laserwelding. The sheet material will have a substantially perpendicularcut-edge after shearing. The straightness of the cut-edge of the sheetmaterial will be within a 0.0015 inch variation over the length.

Referring to FIGS. 15-18, sheets 17 sheared according to the presentinvention are shown having cut-edges 19 with a maximum tolerance of0.0015 inch. FIGS. 15 and 16 show sheets 17 having maximum concave andconvex cut-edges 19, respectively. FIG. 17 shows the convex sheets inposition for laser welding with a maximum tolerance of 0.0015 inch foreach of the cut-edges, FIG. 18 shows the concave cut sheets in positionfor laser welding, and having a maximum tolerance on cut-edges of 0.0015inch.

The shearing system 10 also produces cut-edges having a minimumbreak-to-shear ratio, as well as providing repeatability. Referring toFIGS. 13 and 14, the lower blade 50 is shown to be angled at betweenabout 0.2 and 0.5 of a degree from the horizontal. This blade angleproduces a cut edge which may be approximately 85 percent sheared andonly approximately 15 percent broken.

Preferably, the specified rating of the shearing system 10 is about 85tons. The shearing system may be equipped with all safety interlocks anddie blocks.

It is contemplated that the shearing system 10 could be implemented toreceive any desired number of sheet metal components. it could also beimplemented to receive sheet metal components of different thicknessand/or physical properties.

Although the present invention has been described in detail by way ofillustration and example, it should be understood that a wide range ofchanges and modifications can be made to the preferred embodimentdescribed above without departing in any way from the scope and spiritof the invention. Thus, the described embodiment is to be considered inall respects only as illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope ofthe invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims ratherthan the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaningand range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within theirscope.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for shearing sheet material so as toleave a straight cut edge on said sheet material comprising: a) a shearassembly including an upper frame and a lower frame; b) a die assemblymounted within the shear assembly, the die assembly including an upperdie shoe and a lower die shoe, the upper die shoe including an upperclamp and an upper blade, the lower die shoe including a lower clamp anda lower blade; c) a hydraulic cylinder and piston-sub-assembly mountedon said upper frame and adapted to drive said upper die shoe downwardlytoward said lower die shoe; d) said upper clamp including a series ofclamping segments arranged to contact and clamp the sheet materialagainst the lower clamp in a prescribed sequence; e) said upper bladehaving a lower surface which engages and drives sheet materialdownwardly past an upper surface on said lower blade so as to shear aportion of sheet material off of the main body of sheet material; f)said lower surface of said upper blade being raked at an angle relativeto said upper surface on said lower blade along its length; g) saidclamping segments being positioned on said upper die shoe to contact andclamp the sheet material against the lower clamp in a sequence when thesaid upper shoe is moved toward said lower shoe.
 2. The apparatus forshearing sheet material of claim 1 further characterized in that: a)said lower surface is raked at about {fraction (3/16)} of an inch perfoot relative to said upper surface to form said rake angle.
 3. Theapparatus for shearing sheet material of claim 2 further characterizedin that: a) said lower surface is raked downwardly in both directionsfrom the center line of said upper blade to form a bow-tie rakeconfiguration.
 4. The apparatus for shearing sheet material of claim 1further characterized in that: a) said upper surface on said lower bladeis inclined downwardly in the direction of said upper blade travel at anangle of between 0.2 degrees and 0.5 degrees to the horizontaltransversely of the lower blade.
 5. The apparatus for shearing sheetmaterial of claim 2 further characterized in that: a) said upper surfaceon said lower blade is inclined downwardly in the direction of saidupper blade travel at an angle of between 0.2 degrees and 0.5 degrees tothe horizontal transversely of the lower blade.
 6. The apparatus forshearing sheet material of claim 3 further characterized in that: a)said upper surface of said lower blade is inclined downwardly in thedirection of said upper blade travel at an angle of between 0.2 degreesand 0.5 degrees to the horizontal transversely of the lower blade. 7.The apparatus for shearing sheet material of claim 4 furthercharacterized in that: a) said clamping segments are positioned on saidupper die shoe to contact and clamp the sheet material against the lowerclamp in a sequence beginning adjacent the centerline of said upperblade and proceeding outwardly from said centerline when the said uppershoe is moved toward said lower shoe.
 8. An apparatus for shearing sheetmetal to form a cut edge which varies from a straight line by a maximum0.0015 inches along the length of the cut edge, comprising: a) a dieassembly including an upper die shoe and a lower die shoe, the upper dieshoe including an upper clamp and an upper blade, the lower die shoeincluding a lower clamp and a lower blade; b) said upper clamp includinga series of separate resiliently mounted clamping segments, saidclamping segments engaging said lower clamp in a prescribed sequencewhen said upper die shoe is driven toward said lower die shoe; c) saidupper blade having a lower surface which engages and drives sheetmaterial downwardly past an upper surface on said lower blade so as toshear a portion of the sheet material off of the main body of sheetmaterial; d) said lower surface of said upper blade being raked at anangle relative to said upper surface on said lower blade; e) said rakeangle being such that said lower surface is raked at about {fraction(3/16)} of an inch per foot lengthwise of and along the length of theupper blade; f) said upper surface on said lower blade being inclineddownwardly in the direction of said upper blade travel at an angle ofbetween 0.2 degrees and 0.5 degrees to the horizontal transversely ofthe lower blade.